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Maintaining adequate liquidity while preserving profitability remains a central challenge for commercial banks because liquid assets strengthen resilience but typically generate lower returns than loans and other earning assets. This study investigates the effect of liquidity on the profitability of U.S. commercial banks using 8,000 quarterly bank observations for 2010–2024. Profitability is measured by return on assets (ROA), with return on equity (ROE) used for robustness, while liquidity, capital adequacy, the loan-to-asset ratio, and bank size are modeled as explanatory variables. Pooled OLS, fixed-effects, and random-effects estimators are compared, and diagnostic tests support a two-way fixed-effects model with standard errors clustered by bank and quarter. The preferred estimates show that a one-percentage-point increase in the liquidity ratio reduces annualized ROA by 0.0183 percentage points (SE = 0.0031; p < 0.001). A one-standard-deviation rise in liquidity, equal to 5.52 percentage points, lowers ROA by approximately 0.101 percentage points, representing 9.2% of the sample mean ROA of 1.097%. Capital adequacy increases ROA by 0.0530 percentage points, and the loan-to-asset ratio increases it by 0.0148 percentage points, both at p < 0.001, whereas bank size is insignificant (β = 0.1008; p = 0.352). The ROE robustness model also yields a negative liquidity coefficient of −0.1074 (p < 0.001). The findings confirm a measurable liquidity–profitability trade-off and support risk-sensitive liquidity regulation that protects financial stability without encouraging persistently excessive holdings of low-yield liquid assets.

This study examines whether risk asset exposure affects the financial performance of commercial banks in Cameroon, a bank-dominated economy of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). Risk asset exposure is measured by lending intensity (the loan-to-deposit ratio) and credit expansion (annual loan growth), and performance by return on assets (ROA). The data form a balanced panel of ten commercial banks over 2014–2024, compiled from the prudential reporting system of the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC) as published by Cameroon's National Economic and Financial Committee. Bank fixed-effects regressions with bank-clustered standard errors are complemented by a wild-cluster bootstrap suited to few clusters, Driscoll–Kraay standard errors, lagged regressors, panel Granger non-causality tests and a within–between (Mundlak) decomposition that separates changes in a bank's own exposure from persistent differences between banks. The main findings are that (i) neither lending intensity nor credit expansion is significantly associated with profitability in any specification (bootstrap p = 0.81 and 0.30), and the confidence intervals exclude effects larger than about one percentage point of ROA; (ii) lending intensity is unrelated to profitability both within banks over time and between banks (between-effect bootstrap p = 0.88); and (iii) the COVID-19 years of 2020–2021 were associated with ROA about 0.70 percentage points lower (bootstrap p = 0.009). The results indicate a limited role for lending exposure, while significant bank fixed effects and the COVID-19 coefficient point to persistent bank heterogeneity and common systemic shocks. Because the sample comprises ten banks under a single regulator, the findings should be interpreted with caution.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) are fundamental processes that provide administrators, policymakers, and stakeholders with methods for learning from experience and improving implementation through the reallocation of resources. However, the success of these interventions depends heavily on effective project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices. This study therefore examined the effect of project monitoring and evaluation practices on the success of the rural school feeding program in Rutsiro District, Rwanda. The specific objectives were to determine the effect of an M&E baseline survey on the success of the rural school feeding program in Rutsiro District; analyze the effect of M&E planning on program success; assess the effect of M&E data management on program success; and evaluate the effect of M&E stakeholder involvement on program success. The study adopted both the Theory of Change and Utilization-Focused Evaluation. It used descriptive and correlational research designs and adopted a census approach involving 103 respondents, including 89 teachers, 10 staff members, two representatives of school feeding committees at the school level, and two SEIs. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and document reviews. A pilot test was conducted with 10 respondents to determine the instrument's ability to produce consistent results over time. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including correlation and regression analyses. The findings revealed that all M&E components (baseline survey, planning, data management, and stakeholder involvement) had a strong and significant positive influence on program success. Respondents showed high levels of agreement, indicating that effective M&E practices improve decision-making, resource allocation, accountability, and overall program performance. The study concluded that well-implemented M&E systems are essential for enhancing the effectiveness, sustainability, and impact of rural school feeding programs. Based on these findings, the study recommends strengthening baseline surveys, improving M&E planning frameworks, enhancing data management systems, promoting active stakeholder involvement, and ensuring adequate resource allocation to support long-term program success.

Research Originality: This study investigates the relationship between inventory management and profitability within the textiles industry in Bangladesh, emphasizing the key factors that significantly enhance the industry's profitability. Research Objectives: This analysis investigates how various factors, including total assets, total equity, total revenue, share capital, retained earnings, finished items, work in progress, and raw materials, impact profit after tax (PAT). Research Methods: The data spans from 2011 to 2023 and encompasses 46 textile companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). To conduct this study, different models like Pooled Ordinary Least Square (POLS), Second Stage Least Square (2SLS), Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) are utilized. Empirical Results: Through the application of techniques including Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (POLS), Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS), and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), we have established that total assets exhibit a significant negative correlation with PAT in both the POLS and 2SLS models. On the other hand, there is a notable positive correlation between total revenue and retained earnings on PAT across all 2SLS, POLS, and GMM models. The share capital shows a negative correlation with PAT in all three models: 2SLS, POLS, and GMM. The main independent variable, which is our fundamental focus, shows that finished goods have a positive correlation with PAT; however, this correlation lacks significance. The raw materials exhibited a negative correlation with PAT, and this relationship is significant. The correlation between Packing Materials and PAT is notably positive. This study highlights the importance of strategies that could facilitate sustainable growth in the textile industry.

The study was directed by the following specific objectives: (i) to examine the impact of the result-based approach on the performance of the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme, and (ii) to analyze the effect of the participatory approach on the performance of the scheme, and (iii) to investigate the role of the reflexive approach in enhancing the program’s outcomes. The theoretical framework drew on decision-making theory, agricultural insurance theory, and contingency theory. The target group for this study comprises roughly 1,463 people. From this group, a stratified sampling technique was been employed to select 313 respondents. Information for the research obtained via questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis, including monthly district reports. The instruments were pilot-tested, resulting in a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.94, which confirms strong reliability. Data analysis involved descriptive and inferential statistics, specifically correlation and regression at a 0.05 significance level, with the assistance of SPSS Version 28. Ethical standards was upheld by securing informed consent from participants and ensuring the confidentiality of all responses.

This paper aims to develop a conceptual and measurement framework for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure quality in Nigerian banks. It also aims to demonstrate how ESG disclosure quality can be distinguished from ESG disclosure quantity, ESG performance, ESG practices, ESG ratings and sustainability reporting. We employed a conceptual review and framework development approach by synthesising stakeholder theory, institutional theory, Nigerian sustainable banking regulation, international sustainability reporting standards and related banking literature. The materials analysed include the CBN Sustainable Banking Principles, SEC Sustainable Financial Principles, NGX Sustainability Disclosure Guidelines, Nigeria’s IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards adoption roadmap, IFRS S1/S2, GRI, TCFD, PCAF, the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision and literature on ESG disclosure, banking risk, financial stability and disclosure quality. The main findings of the study demonstrate that: (i) ESG disclosure quality is a distinct construct; and (ii) bank ESG disclosure quality should be assessed across environmental, social and governance dimensions. The paper proposes the ESG Disclosure Quality Index framework which provides a graded 0–5 scoring scale and three empirical model specifications for future panel data studies. The framework provides a basis for assessing ESG disclosure quality and examining its relationship with bank-level outcomes in Nigeria and comparable emerging market banking systems.               

Studies on the impact of digitalisation on bank credit allocation are relatively scarce. Digital technologies have a significant impact on economic growth, the labour market, commodity and asset prices, and international trade. The recent surge in innovation and digitalisation within the financial sector has brought about tremendous changes in bank business models and credit distribution, significantly affecting economic growth. Digital transformation has led to a new banking business model of collaboration between emerging Fintechs and conventional commercial banks, often called a “partnership model”. Here, the banking system is viewed as the evolutionary outcome of monetary financial institutions, constantly adapting to technological change. This ongoing evolution has determined the pattern of credit allocation, ultimately shaping its effects on economic growth. Drawing upon authoritative primary data and sector-specific lending indicators, this study seeks to advance existing scholarly research regarding the impact of digital transformation on bank credit allocation. The contribution of this research stems from comparing the digital transformation of banking systems in the UK and Denmark and examining how digitalisation has led to divergent trajectories in bank credit allocation. The study explores credit allocation under the digital transformation of banking and its effect on overall economic growth. In this sense, bank credit allocation extends beyond traditional industrial firms to reach various other sectors of the economy. Specifically, this research demonstrates how technological advancements in the banking sector directly impact overall economic performance, drawing on empirical evidence from the UK and DK as selected case studies. Empirical evidence demonstrates that bank lending has prioritised credit for financial market trading and real estate mortgages at the expense of the productive sector. This is particularly evident in the ever-growing volume of lending directed toward already existing assets. The prevalence of non-productive credit effectively illustrates that the banking system is increasingly driving the financialisation of the economy.  

Digital expansion is conceived as a firm-level consequence after adoption, capturing both the breadth and depth of digital tools usage in operational and customer-facing business operations. The study investigates five readiness dimensions based on survey data of 388 small firms: capital adequacy, technological infrastructure, digital literacy, preference adaptation, and marketing investment. The results suggest that capital adequacy and digital literacy are positively and significantly related to digital expansion whereas technological infrastructure, preference adaptation and marketing investment are not statistically significant in the estimated model. Coefficient-comparison tests also imply that the important internal readiness variables are more strongly related to digital expansion than the market-oriented readiness variables.  This study contributes to the literature on digital transformation in small firms by showing that, in a resource-constrained emerging-economy environment, internal financial and capability-related conditions are more strongly associated with digital expansion than market-facing readiness. The results have substantial implications for Bangladesh suggesting that digital financial support should be coupled with digital literacy development and targeted capability-building for small companies.

After digital technology started spreading around economies, the hypothesis emerged that smaller but very digitally inclined firms would disrupt existing profitability levels by challenging incumbents’ market power. In this context, the banking sector would be no exception. By testing this hypothesis through a fixed effects model considering quarterly data from 2011 to 2022 for Brazilian banks, we found that from 2016 on there was a change in the behavior of intermediation revenues associated with increased competition in the sector, especially due to the performance of fintechs and digital banks. On the other hand, we observed a reversal of the slope of fee revenues, which became positive, indicating an attempt to compensate for the drop in intermediation revenues, notably an unwanted side effect. The study recommends that policymakers should watch for possible substitution effects while designing banking regulations.

This paper examines how uninsured deposits influence credit union funding and whether private excess deposit insurance alters the stability, pricing, and lending capacity of uninsured deposits — deposits that exceed the federal deposit insurance limit. Using U.S. credit union Call Report data from 1995–2022, we exploit variation across institution size, insurance regime, and participation in optional private excess deposit insurance.  We distinguish between pre-crisis (1995–2007) and post-crisis (2009–2022) periods surrounding the 2008 expansion of federal insurance limits.  We document pronounced heterogeneity across the size distribution.  For small credit unions, uninsured deposits are limited in scale and are associated with lower loan intensity.  In contrast, uninsured deposits play a central funding role for large credit unions, which account for 94% of industry assets and 97% of uninsured deposits. For these institutions, uninsured deposits support lending and command higher funding costs — effects that are significantly moderated by excess deposit insurance, reducing funding costs by approximately 27 basis points during the pre-crisis period.  Following 2008, excess insurance participation declines among large institutions but increases modestly among small firms.  Overall, excess deposit insurance functions as a partial substitute for federal coverage, stabilizing uninsured funding without increasing delinquency rates — evidence against moral hazard.

This study aims to assess and rank all thanas in Bangladesh according to their performance in financial inclusion. It employed a composite index for that purpose, using three proxies of financial inclusion: deposit per account, advance per account, and advance deposit ratio. Cross-sectional data obtained from the Scheduled Banks Statistics of Bangladesh Bank are utilized to rank 615 thanas in Bangladesh. It categorizes 615 thanas into three classifications: high, medium, and poor financial inclusion. There are large differences in the availability and utilization of financial services among thanas. Thanas have a low level of integration into the formal financial system, as indicated by the average financial inclusion index of 0.068 and a maximum of 0.628. The rate of financial inclusion is continuously lower in rural, remote, and hilly regions compared to economically active and urban areas. Kotwali in Chattogram, Dhaka, etc., is a higher-ranked thana that demonstrates stronger financial inclusion, with higher per-account values and greater reliance on credit. By comparison, the lower-ranked thanas such as Ramgati, Char Shasivuson, Madan etc. are characterized by a low level of financial integration, poor institutionalization as well as extensive use of informal finance. The paper concludes that the present policy actions have failed to create broad financial inclusion improvements. It proposes multi-dimensional interventions, which are focused to tackle the urban-rural divide. This study will provide the policy makers with useful information to determine the actual situation by determining the highly included and excluded thanas in Bangladesh. Eventually, it will help the interested parties to develop thana or area-based measures to secure financial inclusiveness of all that result to promoting comprehensive and sustainable economic development. The study is also unique because it is likely to be the first initiative that has attempted the study at micro level i.e. thana based analysis of financial inclusion in Bangladesh.

Using Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) scores compiled by the Boost Awards international company for 77 UK companies listed on the FTSE100, the paper explores the impact of CSR on companies’ cash and investment decisions. The analysis is based on the system-GMM estimation methodology, spanning the period 2006 to 2023. The empirical analysis provides direct evidence that suggests that CSR award is directly and positively associated with corporate cash holdings, with such awards also having a positive effect on corporate investment decisions. The findings survive certain robustness tests in relevance to the distinction between mature and growth firms, although they are stronger in the case of the growth firms, and an alternative definition of CSR. The findings are highly important for company managers, investors and regulatory authorities. Managers in awarded CSR firms with better investment opportunities hold more cash because financial distress is more costly for their firms. In addition, firms with more cash holdings are less likely to default on their financial obligations, hence this evidence also implies that investors may give priority to invest in such high-performance CSR firms. Regulatory authorities should also consider that CSR activities enhance value of firms’ cash holdings and improve stakeholders’ relations.

This article maps the knowledge structure and evolution of bankruptcy/default prediction research in financial institutions using a bibliometric co-citation approach, which identifies works that are often cited together due to the proximity of their theories, methods, or themes. Bibliographic data were collected from the Web of Science (WoS) for the period 1970-2025, then extracted in a complete bibliographic format and prepared for network analysis. The co-citation procedure is carried out by extracting the reference list, normalizing and unifying citation variations, and preparing a co-citation matrix, which is then visualized and classified using VOSviewer with minimum threshold parameters and normalized association strength. The results of the document ranking based on the number of citations and Total Link Strength (TLS) show the development trajectory of the field from the ratio and Z-Score approach to the logit probabilistic model, the market foundation based on the structural theory of credit risk, the governance perspective supported by agency theory, the dynamic panel methodology/GMM for longitudinal data, to computational waves (neural networks and machine learning) to capture nonlinear patterns of credit scoring. The co-citation map uncovers four main clusters: econometrics & banking risk, structural theory, ratios, and computational, with Merton and Altman acting as the cross-cluster binding nodes. These findings support the design of a more comprehensive early warning system (EWS) by integrating ratio signals, market indicators, governance/agency factors, and ML models to improve accuracy and adaptation.    

This study examines how first-generation immigrants in the United States plan for retirement, report income, and engage with the Social Security system. The analysis combines an original anonymous survey of 120 first-generation immigrants with descriptive, correlational, and illustrative aggregate evidence constructed from Social Security Administration, Census Bureau, and related institutional data for 2013–2023. The survey results show three consistent patterns. First, retirement knowledge is limited: most respondents do not understand how Social Security benefits are calculated, yet a large majority would attend retirement-planning workshops. Second, financial behavior is shaped by legal status and labor-market formality. Tax filing rates are high overall, but underreporting incentives are stronger among respondents paid in cash and among groups facing legal or administrative uncertainty. Third, family obligations materially affect long-term planning. Many respondents prioritize supporting relatives over retirement savings, and women report lower earnings despite comparable English proficiency and, in this sample, higher educational attainment. Over 2013–2023, Social Security program income and program cost rose alongside the immigrant population, but this aggregate exercise is illustrative only, is not causal, and cannot identify immigrants’ net fiscal impact on the system. The paper’s main contribution is therefore behavioral: it shows how limited knowledge, payment formality, and family obligations shape retirement planning within a non-representative regional sample of first-generation immigrants.

This study examines whether Islamic banks in SSA exhibit convergence in operational efficiency or whether performance disparities persist over time. Specifically, it evaluates whether less efficient banks catch up with more efficient peers within the region’s emerging Islamic banking sector. The study adopts a two-stage empirical framework using panel data from 35 Islamic banks across SSA over the period 2010–2024. In the first stage, operational efficiency scores are estimated using a bias-corrected Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model following the Simar and Wilson two-stage approach. An input-oriented specification under Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) is employed to reflect cost minimization behaviour and heterogeneity in bank size. Bias correction is implemented using a bootstrap procedure to obtain consistent efficiency estimates. In the second stage, convergence dynamics are analysed using sigma (σ) and beta (β) convergence models, alongside conditional convergence regressions incorporating bank size, age, and market concentration. The results reveal significant β-convergence, with the baseline model yielding a coefficient of −0.267 (p < 0.01), while the conditional model confirms robust convergence (β = −0.2836, p < 0.01), indicating that banks with lower initial efficiency improve at a faster rate than more efficient institutions, consistent with catch-up dynamics. However, σ-convergence results show that efficiency dispersion declined between 2010 and 2019 but increased after 2020, indicating that convergence was time-varying rather than uniform. This suggests that while convergence forces exist, structural differences and external shocks continue to sustain efficiency gaps across banks. The findings highlight the need for stronger regulatory harmonization, improved financial infrastructure, and targeted capacity-building initiatives to accelerate efficiency convergence across Islamic banks in SSA.

This study investigates whether inefficiencies in Islamic banking in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are primarily driven by managerial limitations or by suboptimal scale of operations. While existing studies largely report aggregate efficiency scores, limited attention has been given to decomposing efficiency into its underlying components in emerging Islamic banking systems, particularly within the SSA context. The study employs a balanced panel of 35 fully fledged Islamic banks operating in SSA over the period 2010–2024. Operational efficiency is estimated using a bias-corrected Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model under an input-oriented Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) framework. To enhance statistical reliability, the Simar–Wilson bootstrap procedure with 2,000 replications is applied. Efficiency scores are decomposed into pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency to distinguish between managerial inefficiencies and structural scale constraints. The results indicate that overall efficiency levels remain low, with inefficiencies largely driven by scale factors rather than managerial performance. A significant proportion of banks operate under increasing returns to scale, suggesting suboptimal size linked to structural constraints such as limited market depth, fragmented regulatory environments, and underdeveloped financial infrastructure. Although pure technical efficiency shows moderate improvement over time, managerial gains are insufficient to offset these systemic limitations. The findings highlight the need for regulatory harmonization, market integration, and strategic expansion or consolidation to enable Islamic banks to achieve optimal scale and improve operational efficiency in SSA. This study provides one of the first comprehensive efficiency decomposition analyses of Islamic banks in SSA using bias-corrected DEA, offering new insights into the relative importance of structural versus managerial sources of inefficiency in emerging financial systems.

This paper investigates whether personality traits, affects, and anticipated emotions measured before a stock market simulation explain participants’ trading style. The study relies on a sample of 133 undergraduate students from the University of Mons, Belgium, who participated in a four-hour CAC 40 trading simulation with a virtual portfolio of EUR 100,000. Regressions were estimated on several dimensions of trading style: number of transactions, minutes per order, average transaction size, average cash holdings, and portfolio volatility. The results show that psychological variables explain little of trading frequency or pacing but are informative about the structure of market exposure. Negative affect is associated with higher cash retention, whereas positive anticipated emotions are associated with lower cash holdings. Gender and openness also predict position size, while gender, age, and openness are significant predictors of portfolio volatility. Overall, the findings suggest that psychology explains less how much individuals trade than how they structure their market exposure.

We study the sinking fund provision in 1,533 nonconvertible corporate bonds issued from 1980 to 1996 with the year 1996 being the last year of inclusion for these provisions in fixed coupon non-convertible corporate bonds. The period 1980 to 1996 is classified as the period of high interest rates (Tewari, Byrd, and Ramanlal, 2015). We find that the provision addresses agency issues due to reinvestment risk, credit improvement, and growth options. When the interest rates are high, investment grade issues with sinking fund have longer maturities (> 20 years) by a ratio exceeding 4:1, while non-sinking fund issues have shorter maturities (≤ 20 years) by a ratio of about 2:1. High yield issues with sinking fund experience credit risk improvement, while non-sinking fund issues experience credit risk deterioration. When the rates are low and expected to rise, the provision is likely to present accumulation threat to the firm thereby, deterrent to its use by the firms. Also, firms use the sinking fund as a call option to capture the benefits of growth. These results suggest that the sinking fund provision has the potential to make a comeback in the corporate debt in a high-interest rate environment and when the rates are likely to fall. The current environment of persistent high rates presents conditions ripe for inclusion of the sinking fund provision in the corporate bonds.

This study examines the effect of Good Corporate Governance (GCG), financing quality, Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility (ICSR), and operational efficiency on the financial performance of Islamic Commercial Banks (Bank Umum Syariah/BUS) in Indonesia using a quantitative explanatory approach with panel data regression analysis. The research focuses on 14 Islamic Commercial Banks registered with the Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan/OJK) over the 2019–2024 period, resulting in 84 firm-year observations selected through purposive sampling based on the availability of complete annual reports. Financial performance is proxied by Return on Assets (ROA), while GCG is measured using governance indicators disclosed in annual reports, financing quality is represented by Non-Performing Financing (NPF), ICSR is measured using an ICSR disclosure index, and operational efficiency is proxied by the BOPO ratio. The analysis was conducted using EViews version 13. The empirical results show that Good Corporate Governance has a positive and statistically significant effect on financial performance, indicating that stronger governance practices contribute to higher profitability. Financing quality does not exhibit a significant effect on ROA. Conversely, Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility and operational efficiency have a negative and statistically significant effect on financial performance, suggesting that higher operational inefficiency and CSR-related costs may reduce short-term profitability. Overall, this study contributes to the Islamic banking literature by providing empirical evidence on key determinants of financial performance in Islamic Commercial Banks and highlights the importance of strengthening governance practices, improving operational efficiency, and managing ICSR programs more strategically to balance social objectives with long-term financial sustainability, while offering insights for regulators and stakeholders in reinforcing governance frameworks and optimizing Islamic value-based social responsibility.

This study aims to identify the activity-based costing (ABC) method and demonstrate its importance in enhancing cost management and achieving operational efficiency from the respondents' perspective. The study problem is that multi-product industrial companies in Iraq suffer from shortcomings in the traditional costing systems used to calculate product costs, which do not accurately reflect the actual costs of products, thus affecting cost management. The importance of this study is demonstrated by highlighting the activity-based costing (ABC) method as a strategic tool to address the challenges that hinder achieving efficiency in cost management. The researcher followed a descriptive analytical approach that combines the theoretical and applied aspects. To address the analytical aspects of the research topic, an electronic questionnaire was distributed to 100 individuals, including financial managers and cost accountants working in multi-product industrial companies in Iraq. 87 valid questionnaires were used for statistical analysis. Through this, the researcher concluded that applying the activity-based costing method in these companies as an alternative to traditional methods helps management in accurately determining administrative decisions regarding cost reduction, improving control over costs, and pricing policies in order to maintain a competitive position in the market and achieve effective cost management and ensure good performance.